Back Issues
Mexico City
Compelling essays and stunning photography transport readers to the metropolis with ancient roots, modern conveniences and a thriving off-the-books economy. The guide features: Francisco Goldman on the trail of a kidnapping that leads him to the neighborhood of Tepito, Daniel Hernandez on the pre-Hispanic drink that’s gaining new popularity, Elena Poniatowska’s meditation on endangered mom-and-pop shops in a gentrifying neighborhood and so much more.
Moscow
Dive deep into Russia’s capital city with reporting and commentary from some of Moscow’s best writers and photographers. This guide offers a fascinating look at the city, from its Soviet past to the current rule of Vladimir Putin. Hear rap battles, meet political dissidents and tour the city at a night. Featuring work by Dmitry Bykov, Ludmila Ulitskaya, Michael Idov, Lara Vapnyar and many other great Russian writers, this volume will take you to the city the everyone is always talking about.
The Caribbean
Our Caribbean guide, go beyond beaches and resorts to discover the many worlds of the Caribbean. Walk with Trinidad’s famed stilt walkers as Carnivale, cheer for baseball teams in the region’s thriving leagues and dance to music legend Yellowman. You will also tour the Jamaican plantations where slavery has been all but erased, explore the tense border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and linger on Havana’s famed Malecón. This is a powerful portrait of an often-simplified region.
Lagos
Our Lagos guide will absorb, fascinate and entrance. Featuring some of the biggest names in Nigerian journalism and literature—including an original essay from Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka—the guide offers an intimate portrait of modern Lagos. Experience the extraordinary breadth of this megacity, from its booming arts, music and film industries to its political struggles and poverty. This is an issue that will truly transport readers, challenging stereotypes and offering new perspectives on a city with much to teach the rest of the world.
US National Parks
Our US National Parks guide takes readers into one of America’s most revered treasures. At once tourist destinations and natural preserves, the parks represent so much of the country’s best intentions and challenging realities. The issue offers new perspectives on these grand locations, from explorations of park histories to the deep dives into the communities within the parks as well as personal essays, both funny and moving, meditating on these beautiful sites. With photography showcasing tourists of the 70s and 80s, complete with Polaroids and a collection of iconic WPA parks posters, this is an issue you don’t want to miss.
Ireland
Our Ireland guide offers a fascinating look at rapidly transforming country. Ireland has never been more relevant—once one of Europe’s conservative countries, the country has transformed rapidly in less than a generation. Now a progressive beacon, Ireland’s evolution demonstrates how quickly a place can change. This issue includes Colum McCann on the Irish storytelling tradition, Eimear Ryan on the fight for women’s sports, as well as fascinating features on the country’s horse-rearing tradition in public housing, and powerful testimonies on Brexit from those who cross the Northern Irish border each day. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in the Emerald Isle.
South Korea
As COVID-19 rippled across the world, South Korea became the model to emulate, from its widespread testing to its contact tracing. In this guide, meet Koreans from all walks of life and hear their stories living before and during the pandemic. Alongside beautiful photographs of Korean home and city life, dive into essays unpacking the big business behind KPOP and the women-led movement challenging K-beauty standards. Presenting work from Krys Lee, E Tammy Kim, Ann Babe and Sunmin Lee, and featuring one of the most powerful cover images we’ve ever produced.
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean has long served as a cultural crossroads, luring pilgrims, tourists and emperors alike. But the region is far more than the vacation hotspots with which it is so often associated. More than 20 countries across three continents share the coastline, and the number of people, histories and cultures across the area make it one of the most diverse and fascinating places to explore. Visit French soccer stadiums and Spanish flamenco dance shows, trace the histories of Egypt’s stolen antiquities and get an up-close look at the global power of the Albanian mafia. You’ll also meet the unlikely surfers of the Gaza Strip and the displaced Syrians, driven out of their homes by violence, now rebuilding their lives in foreign lands. Alongside excellent writing and photography, the guide features one of our trademark cover illustrations, showcasing the many ways people have traversed these waters.
Texas
Ride into the Texas horizon with some of the state’s biggest names, including Dan Rather, Earl Campbell, Andrea Valdez, Jared and Gen Padalecki and S.C. Gwynne on everything from cheerleading to racial justice. You’ll travel to football stadiums and hip-hop clubs, big skies and sky scrapers, with stunning photography and powerful prose. Don’t miss this look at the beautiful, complicated and diverse Lone Star State.
Colombia
In the last decade Colombia’s global reputation has transformed from a country known primarily for armed conflict and drug trafficking to a sought-after tourist destination. In this guide, we offer an exciting and compelling window into this complex country. Go deep into the Andes home to the country’s cycling obsession. Learn how Colombia has come to dominate global reggaeton, explore the lingering impact of civil unrest and meet some of millions of Venezuelan refugees now entering the country. Including new works by Gabriel García Márquez never before translated into English, this is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Colombia.
Scandinavia
With this guide, you’ll get a new and fascinating look into Scandinavia. Dive into freezing waters, where ice swimming is once again popular. Bask in the joys of kräftskiva, the summer crayfish celebration. Tour Norway’s humane prisons and learn the philosophy behind them. Discover the history of the region’s noir detective novels and the preponderance of heavy metal bands. The face of the region is changing rapidly as each country grapples with the roles of new immigrants, indigenous Saami communities and rising right-wing nationalism. Climate change casts a particularly long shadow in a land of rapidly melting glaciers. In this guide, you’ll meet immigrants and refugees as they work to carve a place for themselves in Scandinavian society. You’ll stand on the ice of a glacier and see the impact of ocean acidification. You’ll travel into the Arctic circle with Saami photographer and reindeer herder Carl-Johan Utsi. It’s a special look at a fascinating region and one you won’t want to miss!
Tehran
As US-Iran relations continue to make headlines, Stranger’s Guide: Tehran brings readers to the streets of a city few outsiders have had the opportunity to explore. Through new works from Dina Nayeri, Jason Rezaian, and a number of up-and-coming authors, the issue explores the public and private lives of residents of the Iranian capital. Go to a night of avant-garde theater where political discourse comes cloaked in artistic metaphor; journey with two sisters as they traverse the city to attend a soccer match for the first time; discover the generation gap between old revolutionaries and young students pushing for a new future. It’s a deep and nuanced look at this complex city.
California
Stranger’s Guide: California, our latest guide, explores the Golden State from numerous vantage points. You’ll accompany an aspiring writer as he attempts to rent a Hollywood apartment that might just have been home to Al Pacino; you will cheer at the sidelines of a J-League basketball game, where Japanese Americans have built community; learn the history of San Francisco’s queer Latinx community and tour the Bay Area’s hidden trash heaps. You’ll also witness the devastation wrought by wildfires across the state, and meet people navigating life while experiencing homelessness. A beautiful and nuanced look at the most populous state in the US, this is a perfect gift for any one who’s ever had a California dream.